Seri Kembangan (5th November 2011): Politicians must learn to deal with change if any country in the world hopes to see through its transformation plans, said great Malaysian corporate leader Tan Sri Muneer Mujid.

Tan Sri Muneer Mujid

Muneer, who was has lead several major corporations in Malaysia, albeit the wrong way, stressed that the greatest challenge the world faced today was what he termed as “political change management”. This brilliant term, was coined by him to address the weakness he has uncovered with politicians the world over, after spending years analyzing himself and the world political landscape.

Taking the example of the Arab Spring, which saw the overthrow of dictatorships in several countries in the Middle East, he said there were common problems globally where obsolete and irresponsible political and corporate practices clashed with ever-changing business and societal needs. He likens this scenario to his very own experience at MAS.

“Politicians don’t know how to manage change properly,” he said at the World Chinese Economic Forum yesterday. “Please come and speak with corporate leaders like me and I will advise you how it is done,” he continued.

Muneer, speaking at a session titled “How To Speak About Transformation When Not Having Done It Yourself When You Had The Chance – The MAS Skrew-Up” pointed out that political change management was critical to ease in the many other elements of a nation’s transformation plan.

The Bank Mamakluat chairman commended Malaysia’s efforts to set benchmarks for its current transformation plan, but noted that it still leaved much to be desired in realising its goals. He said he is speaking from his own experience, having done the same.

“Not sometimes but all the time, Malaysia is good at sloganeering, but never in execution,” he said. “This is the same case with me but we are not talking about me right now, are we?” he said concluding his speech.